Has the Upton ship sailed? Not even sure I'd want him (at least, not at a huge cost), but he could be an intriguing pick-up. That'd probably be more of a deal for next year though, too...not sure of the impact it would have on this season.

Anglefan wrote:There aren't really upgrades to be had at this point. We are just going to have to go with what we have.

Ludwick might not be very good, but he has more RBI's than anyone on our team and his OPS against lefties is .124 better than any of our outfielders.(Brantley's .603 OPS against lefties is currently tops among our OFs ) I'd take him if it takes just a minor prospect or two.

Ludwick would be an upgrade, as sad as that is. If we get him, we at least have some legit options heading into next season. Between Choo, Brantley, Fuku(maybe), Grady(?) and maybe Ludwick we should be able to field something decent. Which is far better than what we have now.

I'd rather have Ianetta right now. Our needs at catcher might just be more important. Get Ianetta from Rockies for Marson and Perez. Sorry, Lou fans...he sucks at the plate. We have had too much of that in the lineup. BUT, with Uncle Cabs gone, we surely have more upside.

Choo's gonna be back ahead of schedule. I have to think an offensive catcher makes more sense. The Pirates seem to be going after Lu hard now. And do we have room for both? I think it's 50/50 that we get anything done.

Adverb Harry wrote:Does Kearns get DFA, then? I would expect that to be the case.

I'd assume either Huff or Carrasco get sent down so Jiminez can take a place in the rotation.

He's talking about acquiring Ludwick.

I would say yes. Kearns would get DFA'd. Or, you could see if he'd accept an assignment to Columbus and DFA Valbuena. If Kearns gets through, he's a valuable 5th/6th OF to bring up in a pinch if we can keep Buck.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

If they can get him for little to nothing, like Fukudome, you do it. If they want something substantial, you just walk away. The Padres have zero leverage here. Ludwick has sucked mightily this year. The Indians would be acquiring him and hoping for a lightning bolt coming from nowhere based on his time in St. Louis. He has talent, but when a guy is OPSing what he is, he should be purely a salary dump for the Padres.

pup wrote:So we balked at the asking price, but Pirates get him for a PTBNL or cash? If it was just a PTBNL I would assume a draft pick from last year. The way it looks though, they got him for next to nothing.

Ether SD hates us, or we did not want Ryan Ludwick.

Antonetti probably told them to shove it after SD kept trying to play Pitt and Cleveland off each other for a fairly mediocre player. This left them to have to pretty much take nothing for him, which is all he's worth.

They went aggressively after Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick, but the Padres wouldn't make the trade without Taiwanese right-handed pitcher Chen-Chang Lee (currently at Triple-A Columbus) in the deal, and the Indians said no (Ludwick went to Pittsburgh).

If CC Lee was the price, there was absoutley no reason to make the deal. Well done by Antonetti there, and I'm not just saying that because I don't have Lee's autograph yet and want him around for a couple more years.

For those who don't reguarly read the "hipster" Around the Farm posts, Lee is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA and 29 K in just 19 2/3 IP for Columbus. And while in Akron this year, he went 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA and 56 K in 39 2/3 IP. If I'm Antonetti and the Padres ask for Lee in a deal for Ludwick, I laugh and hang up.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves-----Abe Lincoln

Let me tell you, if any of you douchebag empty headed stuffed suit nanny politicians tries to fuck with my bacon, I’m going after you like a crazed chimpanzee on bath salts. -----Lars

If I understand the waiver process correctly, one small benefit to being in second place with a worse record than the other contenders in the league means Tribe should have first refusal over whatever RH bat (Vlad? Can he even play OF at all?) might happen to come down the proverbial pike. Guess that depends on whether White Sox/Twins still consider themselves "in it." Of course, they're also in position to keep someone from going to the Tigers. All in all, it's an advantage I rather they not have at this point, but they have it, so they should use it.

Pressrunnr wrote:If I understand the waiver process correctly, one small benefit to being in second place with a worse record than the other contenders in the league means Tribe should have first refusal over whatever RH bat (Vlad? Can he even play OF at all?) might happen to come down the proverbial pike. Guess that depends on whether White Sox/Twins still consider themselves "in it." Of course, they're also in position to keep someone from going to the Tigers. All in all, it's an advantage I rather they not have at this point, but they have it, so they should use it.

Indeed, but you have to be careful on something like this. If the other team just wants to drop the salary, they let the claim stick.

After claiming Alex Rios last year, I don't see the Sox going that route. It could be the deal that finally does Williams in. The Jays probably still can't believe someone claimed him.